America is really really lagging when it comes to the welfare of their farm animals. Just to show some comparisons, Switzerland banned the battery cage system of producing eggs and required the suppliers to provide their egg laying hens free space and a nesting box and that was in 1991. The European Union hopes to, by 2012, require egg producers to provide at least 120 square inches per bird. Now, where do we stand? The typical living space for each hen is 48 square inches! You see what I mean by "lagging"? So, what's my point in this? Well, I'm not trying to convince you to boycott eggs, but to think about what consumers can do. This is where supply and demand comes into play. As consumers, we can choose whose eggs we buy from. When there's enough people wanting to buy eggs from humanely treated hens, then the industry would be more inclined to produce it. When possible, choose to buy from organic certified.
Did you know that 4 years ago, McDonald's started requiring their egg suppliers to make living conditions better for their egg laying hens? They required their egg suppliers to provide 72 square inches for each hen. Compared w/ the European guideline, it isn't that great but compared w/ the rest of the egg farms in the US, it's much better. Also, McDonald's considering requiring it's processors to use more humane methods of slaughtering poultry. Click here and here for more on this story. So, there is still hope in this country.
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4 comments:
Wow, only 48 in^2 per chicken? that's barely a 7" x 7" square. :( so sad.... it's as if a human we confined to a roughly 28" x 28" square, if you roughly estimate that a human is about 4 times wider than a chicken, which I think is already a very generous estimate... ok maybe not for obese American standards! :D
that is really sad. like having to sit in a shoebox all day, no where else to go. i think milk cows have it pretty bad too...
I remember looking into "cruelty-free" meat/poultry once, but only briefly. I guess I was too lazy to follow through.
I would pay a premium for this sort of thing...
HP downsized cubicles to 8'x6', so I kind of know how the chickens feel. Except for the egg-laying part. And I'm thankful they don't cut off my lips.
Yup, conditions for dairy cows aren't any better. It is really sad, click here for more info.
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